[ By Steph in History & Trivia & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
For a big rock that happens to be trapped in our planet’s orbit, the moon certainly has a lot of pull – literally – on life here on Earth, from the tides to centuries of art, religious beliefs and folklore. We can’t help but be fascinated by its beautiful glow, its changes throughout the month, its movement across the sky and the vast rocky landscape on its surface.
The Full Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This stunning image shows the moon as it was captured by the Galileo spacecraft in 1992. The moon is ‘full’, appearing perfectly round, when it is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. This is the only time when the back half of the moon is truly dark. (See this image large!)
Lunar Eclipse
(images via: davedehetre, wikimedia commons)
The moon can take on an eerie red glow in the midst of an eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon is perfectly aligned behind the earth, with the earth blocking the sun. The phenomenon can be viewed by anyone on the side of the earth facing the moon when it occurs, and can last several hours. In contrast, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun as viewed from the earth; solar eclipses last just a few minutes.
Waxing and Waning
(images via: maxwell hamilton, wikimedia commons, nasa goddard)
As the moon passes through its various stages, its shape appears to change. However, this is only an optical illusion based on the relative location of the moon to the earth and the sun. When the illuminated side of the moon is on the right, the moon is ‘waxing’ or building toward a full moon. When it’s on the left, the moon is ‘waning’ toward the ‘new moon’, when the moon is in total darkness.
Movement of the Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This animation illustrates the moon as it passes through its cycles. It appears to wobble a little bit, a phenomenon called libration, because of the slight shifts in the lunar orbit.
Crescent Moons
(images via: jurvetson, makelessnoise)
Crescent moons occur both at the waxing and waning phases, when the moon is between 1-49% visible. Waxing crescent moons are visible between about 3pm and post-dusk, while waning crescent moons can be seen between pre-dawn and 9am. At 50% visible, it’s a ‘quarter moon’, and when the moon is between 51-99% visible in either waxing or waning phases , it’s referred to as ‘gibbous’.
Earthshine
(image via: wikimedia commons)
What causes that strange glow on the dark side of the moon? Often called ‘earthshine’, this glow comes from sunlight reflected by the earth. It occurs when the light from the sun is reflected from the surface of the earth to the moon and then back again to our eyes. It can be seen most clearly during the crescent phases.
The Moon Beside the Earth
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Unlike most other planets (aside from Pluto, which technically isn’t even a planet anymore), Earth’s moon is relatively large compared to the size of its planet. It’s a quarter of the diameter of the earth, and 1/81 its mass. It takes the moon about 29.5 days to orbit the earth; this time period was the basis of what we now use to divide the days of the year into months.
Lunar Craters
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2, 3)
These images capture some of the moon’s craters including Goclenius, Daedalus and Tycho. The word ‘crater’ was coined by Galileo from the Latin word for cup. They were formed by the impact of meteors and asteroids. The lack of water, atmosphere and tectonic plates on the moon mean there is little erosion, preserving the crates for millennia.
The ‘Seas’ of the Moon
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Centuries ago, astronomers believed that the dark, featureless areas on the moon that can be seen with the naked eye were seas, hence the term ‘mare’ (plural maria) used to identify these areas. We now know that these plains are solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava which flowed into the depressions associated with impact basins between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago.
The Moons of Jupiter
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Of course the earth’s moon is not alone in its beauty; many other planets have moons that are just as incredible. Jupiter has the most moons of any planet, with 64 confirmed. The largest of them are the four ‘Galilean moons’, discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei; this observation marked the first time objects were found to orbit a body that was neither the sun nor the earth. From left to right, the four Galilean moons as depicted above are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The Moons of Saturn
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons)
Saturn is home to the second largest moon in our solar system, know as ‘Titan’. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has an Earth-like atmosphere with hydrocarbon lakes and networks of dry rivers. In addition to Titan, Saturn has 61 moons of vastly variable sizes; 38 of them are ‘irregular satellites’, likely captured minor planets or collections of space debris.
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Blushing Hides: 10 Amazing Pink Animals
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series & Animals & Habitats & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Pink pigs (and people) display beauty that’s only skin deep but when pink appears as an animal’s prime pigment the results can be strikingly beautiful… they don’t call it “shocking pink” for nothing! This proud posse of puce poseurs provides proof positive pink can be a perfectly pleasing pigment. Period.
Pink Insects
(images via: Loucigaloun04, Mongabay and Dipity)
Insects can be pink owing to a number of factors but mainly two which would seem to be counteractive. Those that frequent pink flowers seek to blend in so as not to be seen by predators – or prey. Others adopt pink along with another, contrasting color to send a vivid “keep away!” signal to potential predators. Can you imagine hot pink & turquoise bees and wasps?
(image via: About.com/Insects)
Why bother with contrast when you’re a newly discovered Dragon Millipede (Desmoxytes purpurosea)? This small but serious critter has a gland that produces cyanide as a defense mechanism. You most definitely don’t want to be near this hot pink dude when he’s, er, millipede-off.
(images via: Audubonimages, Rigorous Intuition and Ohio Birds and Biodiversity)
Other insects are pink not by design but by defect, such as the pink katydid and grasshopper above. In cases of Erythrism, these creatures lack a certain pigment that (by virtue of its absence) leaves the insects with an unintended color scheme. Lobsters can suffer a similar fate but due to different pigments involved, there are no pink lobsters. Pity.
Pink Starfish
(images via: SP13001, TripAdvisor and Squidoo)
Starfish are a favorite subject of photographers thanks to their wide variation in coloration and contrast. It’s not certain what purpose vivid colors serve starfish, however. Slow-moving creatures who frequent reef environments and occasionally feast on endangered corals, starfish are often washed up on beaches where their brilliant hues quickly fade.
(image via: Bargain Florida Lots)
You’ve gotta hand it to echinoderms (who don’t actually HAVE hands), they’re definitely “stars” when it comes to showing their true colors. The hot pink starfish above somehow found its way to a southwest Florida beach without getting BP’d.
Pink Frogfish
(images via: Kapalselam, Delargy.com and DownBelow)
The world’s oceans host an abundance of pink fish and frogfish but this pink Frogfish steals the spotlight. Who can resist this finned clump of cotton candy as it scuttles along the seafloor? Don’t be fooled though, some species of frogfish have toxic spines on their heads that can deliver a painful dose of venom to the unwary.
(image via: RedBubble)
Frogfish don’t have scales and can adjust their skin coloration to match their surroundings. We’re not sure what was surrounding the bubblegum-pink frogfish above… perhaps a sunken ship’s cargo of pink bubblegum?
Pink Land Iguana
(images via: Cryptomundo, Zoo Kawaii and Galapagos Conservancy)
Almost 175 years after Charles Darwin roamed their rocky shores, the Galapagos Islands are still springing surprises on biologists who’d thought they’d seen it all. Maybe now they have: a small population of large, pink land iguanas living on the slopes of the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.
(image via: National Geographic)
A park ranger first noticed these (actually, quite noticeable) large iguanas in 1986 but it was thought at the time they were merely a variation of the common land iguana – or, that he’d been drinking. The results of blood testing (on the iguanas, not the ranger) confirmed the Pink Iguana is a specific species and not just a great band name.
Pink & Coral Cornsnakes
(images via: Poppycorns)
Snake breeders have long striven to induce their reptilian subjects to express colors not normally found in nature. Take the Pink & Coral Cornsnakes above… not to worry, they’re not poisonous. Buyers now can choose from a wide variety of pinks and patterns to suit their needs, whatever those needs might be.
(image via: Poppycorns)
Of course, it also helps to have a colorful name, like Coral Snow Peaches, Neon Coral Roses, Starburst (as in the candy) Snow Rhapsody or Champagne Pink Minstrel.
(image via: Bite-Dose)
Naturally pink tinted snakes are unusual and most of those reported have been determined to be albinos – their pink tint is owed to their muscle tissue showing through translucent skin. The snake above, however, boasts serrated stripes of brilliant pink that are even more prominent when seen against its black base coloration. Liophidium pattoni, native to the forests of Madagascar, is new to science having only been discovered in 2010.
Pink Flamingos
(images via: MyMixFM and Shutterpoint)
Think pink and pink flamingos are probably what come to mind. Not Pink Flamingos, the 1972 cult classic film from avantgarde director John Waters and starring the notorious Divine, but we digress. Real flamingos are not actually pink, they TURN pink from ingesting water-borne bacteria and from the beta carotene in the food they eat.
(images via: TravelBlog, Luxurious Mexico and Beecy.net)
Flamingos kept in zoos are fed beta carotene supplements and shrimp in order to help them maintain their rosy plumage. Not only do zoo visitors appreciate the results, the flamingos may as well: a pale, drab flamingo has a lesser chance of hooking up with their opposite number. Is that where the cliché “in the pink” comes from?
(image via: Wikipedia)
The garish bird above isn’t a flamingo but is shown here because of its various shades of pink ranging from salmon to neon. Take away the color and it’d be pug-ugly… like most vultures. Yep, it’s a California Condor chick!
Pink-Faced Bald Uakari
(images via: National Geographic, YouSayToo and Retrieverman)
Uakaris are monkeys… monkeys from Hell!! OK, not really, they come from isolated areas of the northwest Amazon basin and just look like Skeletor’s pet. There are 4 known species of Uakari but our focus here is on the Bald Uakari. This odd-looking New World monkey has copious hair all over its body with the exception of its head – much like your average middle-aged human male.
(image via: Greg Neise)
Uakaris have no fat beneath the skin of their faces; basically they’re just skin & bones above the neck, giving their countenances a bizarre, some say “demonic” aspect.
(images via: Fun Gallery, GEO and Wikipedia)
Since the Uakari’s home ranges are located deep in the Amazon rainforest, not a whole lot is known about their lives and lifestyles. Reports have stated they live in the treetops and (thankfully) have a herbivorous diet. Uakaris sometimes travel in groups of up to 100… forget chimps, they should’ve made Rise of the Planet of the Apes with THESE guys!
Pink Dolphins
(images via: Dani.gomes61, Creepy Animals and Condé Nast Traveler)
The pink Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) is actually a mottled pink with gray, though it’s pinker by far than any other dolphin. They’re also thought to be intelligent and have a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans. You didn’t see any Amazon River Dolphins at the Kardashian wedding, did you? Case closed.
(images via: Scholastic, ECDAfrica and Daily Mail UK)
The Amazon pink dolphins come by their hue naturally, which is not to be confused with a number of albino Bottlenose Dolphins that have been featured in the news recently.
Pink Hippos
(images via: ScienceRay and Have-Fun-In-The-USA.com)
Pink Hippos are rarely sighted outside of Hanna-Barbara cartoons but they do exist, and for several reasons. Most hippos are a brownish-gray color with pink undertones. They can appear even pinker on hot, sunny days when they tend to sweat: hippo sweat is pink!
(images via: AnimalFWD, OK! Magazine and National Geographic)
For a few hippos, even sweating pink isn’t enough: so-called Leucistic hippos lack the normal amount of gray pigment in their skin and, by default, tend towards a more pinkish aspect. Hippos can tolerate leucism more than other creatures as they spend a lot of time in the water and, as a bonus, secrete an oily substance that acts as a sunscreen.
Pink Elephants
(images via: Tremendous News and BBC)
Pink Elephants, no longer just a drunkard’s hallucination! Though this post has focused on naturally pink animals, albino elephants just had to be included because there’s just no ignoring the 800-lb pink elephant in the room – or in the wild. Curiously, albinism is much more common (though still rare) in Asian Elephants and the sighting of the pink baby above in Botswana’s Okavango Delta region sparked a flood of interest from zoologists and conservationists.
(images via: IOL)
“I have only come across three references to albino calves,” stated Dr Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders, “which have occurred in Kruger National Park in South Africa.”
(images via: Geof Wilson)
Dyeing to be pink? We’ll ignore the antics of pink poodle fanciers or that wacky Brit who tinted her cat pink with food coloring to match her hair. The flock of sheep above was “dyed in the wool” to deter rustlers. Don’t tell that English chick about this, OK?
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Lifestyle Changes to Destress
First, you need to learn how to organize your time. You may find keeping a schedule helpful so you will know when it’s time to say no to other commitments. Excessive demands on your time can put you in a lot of stress. Utilize shortcuts so you’ll have more time to do things and be less frantic. Also, you’ll have spare time to relax or do things that you enjoy.
Maintain an organized home and work environment. A cluttered space can give you additional stress and even drain your energy. Don’t make your environment a stressor. De-clutter and decorate your house or your workplace with things that gives you a soothing feeling. Make it a habit to keep your things and space clean and organized. Not only is it pleasing to the eyes, it will also save you from stressing on taking time to find things and missing some.
Take good care of your body. A healthy body means you are in good condition to handle your daily stressors. Being unhealthy makes stressful things even more stressful and in itself an additional stress for you. So, have a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and make sure to get enough rest and sleep. Take vitamins or supplements if necessary. Pamper yourself sometimes like getting a massage or going on a vacation. It can help you avoid chronic stress and make your body re-energized.
Develop a supportive social network. Studies show that people who have a supportive social network have less stressful lives than those who don’t even have a close friend or partner to lean on during tough times. Meet more people and develop better relationships. You will feel less stress if you can air out your negative emotions with people you trust and get an encouraging response from them. Remember, a burden when shared equals half the burden. Bottling things up inside will only make the pressure increase.
Source: Social Media Ala Carte
Beth
Island In the (Air)Stream: Floating Sculpture Goes Missing
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Nature & Ecosystems & News & Politics. ]
If you live in Europe and recently saw a lush green island floating by in the sky, don’t worry – you haven’t lost your mind. A team of U.K. artists and designers have lost something very important to them, though: this mesmerizing floating structure called Is Land.
(all images via: Is Land)
At the Secret Garden Party festival in Cambridgeshire in July, a group of vandals cut the support ropes tethering Is Land to the ground. The helium-filled floating island sailed away on the wind, carrying with it months of hard work on the part of artist Sarah Cockings, designer Laurence Symonds and a whole team of other contributors.
Is Land, a lushly vegetated artificial island in the sky, is a sculpture that reminds us all how close and how far away our perfect worlds are. It floats above the heads of onlookers, tantalizing them with glimpses of a lovely but ever-unreachable landscape.
Sadly, the few malicious festival-goers who decided to set Is Land aloft nearly deprived an American audience of this beautiful sculpture. It was due to make its first American appearance at Burning Man 2011 shortly after the Secret Garden Party. Thanks to the generosity of the Secret Garden Party fund, the Is Land creators have been able to start work on a new version of the piece that will be presented at Burning Man.
The team is still on the hunt for the original, however. Due to the time and money invested in Is Land, it would be a shame for this beautiful piece of art to disappear forever. According to wind patterns, the helium-filled sculpture should have touched down somewhere in the Czech Republic. Anyone who has seen Is Land or has information on its whereabouts can contact the designers through their website.
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How to Include
Do you ever wonder how you come across to others? I’m sure we all do. But sometimes the qualities we don’t like in others, we often unconsciously exhibit in ourselves.
A friend of mine relayed a very sad bullying story she endured in high school. She was very tall for her age and girls made fun of her all of the time. They called her names and pinned signs on her back. They wrote jokes about her on bathroom walls. I asked her how she got through that period. Or how she was able to forgive these girls.
She responded like this:
“It made me realize that I need to always be aware how I come across to others, so I never perpetuate their bad behavior. I take a moment to realize how a comment of mine might have come across. I ask the people in my life if they feel they need something from me that their not getting. I’m open to change. And I just include people. I make sure that no one in my life ever feels the way I did as a child. In short, be a person you want to be around.”
So today, what can you do to make someone feel included? Loved? Heard? Remember: it usually doesn’t take much!
Beth
7 Wonders of the Plant World: Bizarre Blooms
[ By Steph in 7 Wonders Series & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
These aren’t flowers you’d give to your mother. Some smell like feces or rotting corpses, some are incredibly ugly, some are deadly while others are just strange. These 7 extreme flowers include the world’s largest, smallest, stinkiest and most dangerous. Stunning examples of the incredibly unexpected wonders that nature can serve up, the world’s most bizarre blooms entice, amaze and disgust.
World’s Largest Flower, Rafflesia arnoldii
(images via: parasiticplants.siu.edu)
Like a mutant toadstool crossed with man-eating flowers from another planet, Rafflesia arnoldii is red with white speckles and can reach up to three feet in diameter. Oh yeah, and it smells like a dead body. From the time this bizarre bloom forms a bud, exposing the pink undersides of its petals, it is disturbingly flesh-like. Then it opens to reveal itself in all of its glory, emitting an odor of decomposition to attract the flies that will pollinate it and help it spread.
Rafflesia arnoldii is found only in the rainforests of Benkulu, Sumatra Island, Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s the largest single flower on earth, and grows as a parasite on a particular species of vine, wrapping thread-like strands of tissue around its host in order to bleed it of water and nutrients.
The flower is both intensely fascinating and utterly repulsive – especially once you get close enough to notice just how mammalian it really looks, with pimply flesh covered in little hairs and pollen-producing parts that look like pustules.
Prehistoric Desert Flower, Welwitschia mirabilis
(images via: wikipedia)
It’s hideous, looking like something that died out to sea and washed up on the beach. It’s bizarre. It’s also extremely rare and incredibly unique. The Weltwitschia mirabilis is a flower – that’s right, a flower – found only in the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. In fact, it’s the latter country’s national flower. Considered a living fossil, weltwitschia is thought to be a holdover from the Jurassic period, when such plants – called gymnosperms – dominated the landscape. Over millennia, similar plants disappeared, but welwitschia managed to survive despite drastic changes to the climate of its environment.
This plant may look like a messy pile of leaves, but it actually only has two, which continue growing throughout the life of the plant, reaching lengths of up to 12 feet. These leaves tend to become ragged and frayed over time, split by the wind and sand to resemble a larger quantity of leaves.
Fleshy Fecal-Scented Parasitic Flower, Hydnora africana
(images via: botany.org)
At first, the Hydnora africana looks like a stone, blending in on the desert floor. But then it rises and opens its terrifying maw and you know you’ve come upon something outrageously unusual. What you see of the parasite Hydnora is just the flower of the plant, most of which is hidden underground, interweaving itself among the roots of its host plant, the succulent Euphorbia. The bloom opens in three sections called sepals, revealing a cavity that stinks like feces, luring in dung beetles. This cavity becomes a temporary trap, keeping the beetles inside long enough to enable pollination. The inside of the cavity is pinkish-orange, fleshy and covered in tiny downward-pointing hairs that prevent the beetles from climbing out. Eventually, the bloom opens enough so that the beetles can escape.
World’s Smallest Flower, Wolffia angusta
(images via: wikipedia, university of wisconsin)
Nope, that’s not algae, nor is it any ordinary aquatic plant. Wolffia, commonly referred to as watermeal and misidentified as duckweed, is officially the world’s smallest flower, with each bloom weighing about as much as two grains of sand. It takes about 5,000 of these teeny-tiny flowers to fill a thimble, and they’re amazingly small when seen against the grooves in a human fingerprint. Woffia sometimes grow in colonies that form a dense-looking mat on sheltered waters. The only way to identify the exact species of a wolffia flower is to view it under a microscope.
Each wolffia flower has a single pistil and stamen and produces the world’s smallest fruit, called a utricle. It has no leaves, stem or roots, floating freely in quiet freshwater lakes and marshes. Woffia is highly nutritious, serving as food for fish and waterfowl in nature and occasionally cultivated for use as livestock feed or even human cuisine. It’s eaten as a vegetable in Burma, Laos and Thailand.
Black Bat Flower, Tacca chantrieri
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Stunningly beautiful, magnificently strange, the black bat flower – Tacca chantrieri – is definitely one-of-a-kind. Not only does it produce black blooms, which is highly unusual in itself, but those blooms are decidedly animalistic with bat-like petal ‘wings’ as well as long ‘whiskers’ that trail up to a foot long. Also known as the devil’s flower, presumably because of its color and strange appearance, the black bat flower also produces odd-shaped blooms in shades of green and purple. This tropical flower can be found in Africa, Madagascar and northeast South America.
World’s Deadliest Flower, Belladonna
(images via: cupcakes2, wikipedia)
There’s a reason that Atropa belladonna is commonly called ‘deadly nightshade’. While it may not hold the official title of deadliest flower in the world (there’s no consensus on that topic), and other flowers like oleander are similarly dangerous, belladonna is notable not only for its ability to kill but for its history and unusual appearance. This perennial herbaceous plant, native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, has been used for centuries as a medicine, cosmetic, poison and hallucinogen. Both the foliage and the very juicy and tempting-looking dark purple berries of this plant are highly toxic. The scientific name ‘atropa’ is thought to be derived from that of the Greek goddess Atropos, one of the three fates, who was responsible for determining a man’s death. ‘Belladonna’ is Italian for ‘beautiful woman’.
Ingest any part of the deadly nightshade and you’ll be swallowing atropine, hyoscine and hyoscyamine, substances that cause a series of worsening symptoms from dilated pupils to slurred speech to hallucinations, delirium, convulsions and possibly death. The pupil-dilating part was once considered desirable, hence the name ‘belladonna’, though prolonged usage was known to cause blindness. In Ancient Rome it was used as a murder weapon.
The Corpse Flower, Amorphophallus Titanum
(images via: wikipedia, stepnout, wayfaring.info)
It’s not enough that the titan arum stands taller than an adult male human, or that its stamen is so crazily large and weird-looking that it has earned the flower the scientific name Amorphophallus titanum (essentially, ‘giant misshapen penis’.) No. This insane flower – which also happens to be incredibly beautiful – also has to smell like the rotting corpse of a mammal left too long in the sun. Say hello to what may just be the single weirdest flower in the world.
The titan arum, which grows in the rainforests of Sumatra, is often cultivated in botanical gardens for guests to gawk and gag over. The spadix of the flower, which is the tallest part, is covered in pollen at the top and dotted with bright red-orange carpels, or ovule-producing parts, at the bottom. It has a single petal called a spathe that is pale green and white on the outside and deep burgundy-purple on the inside. Like many other species, the flower emits the scent of rotting meat to attract pollinators.
The tallest bloom in cultivation, grown at the zoological garden Wilhelmina in Stuttgart, Germany, reached 9 feet 6 inches in height.
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Seven Feel Good Now Approaches
1. Listen to music. It lowers your body’s level of cortisol (the stress hormone), reduces anxiety, and can even improve your memory. Whether you love Mozart, Alicia Keys, or Lady Gaga, it’s all good. Are you pregnant? One recent study found that lullabies and nature sounds were the best choices for helping moms-to-be relax.
2. Warm up. The comfort of feeling warm and cozy is a terrific stress-reducer. The doctors at the international Mandometer Clinics, which specialize in treating eating disorders, use warm rooms and blankets to help anorexic women curb their anxiety after meals. Take advantage of spring’s lingering chill by taking a hot shower and wrapping yourself in a fluffy robe afterward. Savor a cup of green tea or get a hot stone massage. If it’s a nice day, put on your sunscreen, grab a book and find a sunny spot.
3. Have a peanut butter sandwich. When you’re fixing your kids’ lunches, aren’t you tempted to make your old favorite for yourself? Go ahead. The protein in peanut butter naturally boosts your level of serotonin, the hormone that regulates moods, sleep, and behavior. Stick with an all-natural variety (you don’t need the saturated oil and preservatives in other brands), have it on whole-grain bread and skip the sugar-loaded jelly. You’re indulging your inner child, and who’s more joyful than a five-year-old?
4. Get a friend fix. A well-known study from the University of Illinois found that the happiest people are the ones with strong bonds to friends and family. (As if you need a bunch of psychologists to tell you that girlfriend-time is fun!) A lot of us don’t make it a priority to connect with our friends regularly. Get into the habit of reaching out to a friend at least once a week, or more often if you can. Send a text, call or get together for a drink after work. And you can never have too many girls’ nights out.
5. Bring nature into your life. Getting in touch with the earth is a time-honored stress reliever, and spring, when nature comes back to life, is a fabulous time to start. Have breakfast on the porch or in the backyard and watch the birds gathering material for their nests. Pick a tree in your neighborhood and look at it daily to see buds turn into leaves.
6. Write it down. For her book, Gore asked women to keep a journal of the best moments in their day. This mindfulness will get you into the habit of noticing the good times as they happen. “Focusing on the moments of flow and happiness in our daily lives instead of focusing on what went wrong just has a refreshing effect,” Gore says. “We notice the natural joy more easily, and we remind ourselves, and sometimes even begin to relearn, what we want to be spending our time doing. “ Buy a notebook and keep it on your nightstand so you can write just before bed. Your entries don’t have to be long; a few lines are plenty.
7. Get out of your rut. Many women Gore spoke to found that they were happiest doing something that took them out of their day-to-day routine: working on an art project, going on a hike, playing with the kids during a time when they didn’t have to rush off to school or sports. Shake up your schedule: Go for a walk at lunch hour instead of eating at your desk. If you spend your nights in front of the TV, turn it off and reach for your journal, a book, or a paintbrush.
In short: Don’t wait for joy to come to you—go out and grab it with both hands!
Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22189/98056-seven-foolproof-feel-good-strategies#ixzz1PAPIe6NP
Beth
Positive Quote Wednesday – on Relaxation
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. ~Attributed to both Jim Goodwin and Sydney J. Harris
Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness. ~Richard Carlson
Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live. ~Margaret Fuller
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid
For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. ~Lily Tomlin
No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick
We live longer than our forefathers; but we suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. They fatigued only the muscles, we exhaust the finer strength of the nerves. ~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Give your stress wings and let it fly away. ~Terri Guillemets
The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it. ~Author Unknown
Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. ~Will Rogers, Autobiography, 1949
There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. ~Sylvia Plath
Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. ~Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind
Beth
Sole Survivor: How 1 Japanese Town Resisted the Tsunami
[ By Steph in Geography & Travel & History & Trivia & News & Politics. ]
It’s ugly. It’s huge. It cost $30 million. But the 51-foot-tall floodgate that was long considered a “mayor’s folly” saved the village of Fudai, Japan from destruction on March 11th 2011, the day an earthquake and tsunami destroyed much of the nation and left 25,000 people missing or dead. All but one resident of the town survived thanks to this unattractive hunk of 1970′s architecture.
Fudai is a mountainous community located in the hard-hit Iwate Prefecture. While other towns in the prefecture, like Rikuzentakata, below, were practically wiped off the map by the nearly 80-foot-high waves that came barreling in from the ocean, Fudai was mostly untouched. Today, it looks much the same as it did on March 10th, a sharp contrast to the hellish scenes that surround it. If it weren’t for a stubborn mayor haunted by the scenes of death he had witnessed decades before, the outcome for Fudai would have been very different.
(image via: ehnmark)
Kotaku Wamura, who served 10 terms starting just after World War II, had pushed for the floodgate project in fear of a repeat of the 1933 tsunami that killed 439 of the town’s residents and destroyed hundreds of homes. After building a 51-foot seawall to protect homes behind the fishing port, he wanted a floodgate just as tall for the cove where the Fudai River empties into the sea, where most of the community was located. Construction began in 1972 despite the misgivings of city council members, who were concerned about its behemoth size.
(top and above image via: seattle pi)
Wamura died in 1997, but since the tsunami, villagers have been visiting his grave in tribute. His words to village employees at the time of his retirement in 1987 have now taken on a new meaning: “”Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand.”
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Romance – the Great Worry Remover
You know how down I’ve been since losing my job. The financial pressures have been mounting and I can barely think straight. How am I going to make it? What’s to become of me? I get so worried, it takes up all of my time.
I went out on a date last night to spite myself; I didn’t want to go. But I figured it might be a good distraction. Well, I had the best time! We went to some old dance hall where these sleepy jazz musicians played. We sipped on our cocktails by candlelight. And then we danced! Slow. Lovely.
I’m not saying this is the man of my dreams. But the mere act of going out and connecting with a fellow human being (okay, of the opposite sex!) was such a mood lifter. I still have the same darn money problems, but today they don’t seem nearly as daunting.
Sometimes you need to touch, to dance, to romance. Sometimes a romantic evening is enough to shift your worries and put them back in the proper place. Sometimes a dance can last forever. Thought this might be good for your positive news blog. It’s “personal” positive news – but positive news all the same.
Beth